The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

PK Pandemonia Arc: Chapter 63 - Risky Stroll

They all returned nods, with Rakuno holding her hand up, wanting to ask a question.

"So.....about Krieg and Grace....."

"They're still trying to get into Katalysis, I assume," I brought down my system menu to check for messages. "I told Krieg to let me know if they'd entered, though I imagine they wouldn't be in the city sooner than tomorrow."

I headed for the door, as Tekion stood up to follow me. "I guess that's all for tonight. You girls can take this room, Teki and I will take the other one with the door opposite to this one. If there's a need for another meeting like this, I'll let you know."

I held the door knob tight as I swung the door gently closed behind Tekion, both of us never uttering another word in the night as we pushed open another door only a step away.

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19 February 2024

Katalysis, 43rd Floor

Footsteps echoed through my ears as I ran forth, towards a player holding his claymore as a shield.

Holding my spear at the ready, I aimed, willing its blade to glow yellow. The spear skill, streamlined through the air as it struck the flat surface of the large blade with a clear sound.

PINGGGG!

I stopped short entirely, my right leg stretched in front with the desperate burst of energy that I had tried to imbue the force of that strike with. Behind the claymore, the player peeked his eyes out at me, dragging his blade with my spear, which still had activated, trying to pierce the large blade as if it had sheer determination.

Around me, the environment of the 40th Floor Labyrinth materialized, but jail bars as high as they were allowed to be were surrounding us in a circle, ridding us of any means of escape.

The face of Hallow simply smiled, his mouth never moving to tell me anything as he relaxed his grip of his claymore. As the tension of the collision gave way, so did my spear's , its yellow glow fading away in its deactivation.

But the momentum force of my spear lingered, pushing my spear forth as the claymore fell to reveal Hallow's chest. My eyes widened, as my hand tried to drop my spear with futility. My mouth opened, wanting to shout out a warning. Any warning, to get Hallow out of the way.

Instead, he closed his eyes, his arms spreading wide, all the while smiling through the fate that he could clearly see happening in front of him. As my spear struck his chest, my vision turned blindingly white, engulfing everything in an instant.

"Hah! Hah! Hah....."

My morning started off with hard panting, as I stared blankly at the wooden ceiling.

Getting up a second later, I spotted Tekion still sleeping soundly in the other bed of the room, all while my panting faded rather slowly back into the silence that the room once had. Without a word, I brought down my system menu, and prepped myself with my usual equipment.

My dream, which wasn't much of a nightmare to be honest, was still proof that I hadn't completely gotten over Hallow's death. Even after meeting his digital ghost and 'coming into terms' with him, there was always a thought of guilt left in my mind.

His suicide.....shouldn't have happened in the first place.

I could've convinced myself that his affiliation with Laughing Coffin was to blame for his decision to shove himself with his own weapon, but the fact that I could have stopped him at that time was unquestionable.